Chris Grey

Screen shot from Paul Embery’s X account: Respect to this police officer. Confronted by radicals demanding the arrest of a Christian preacher on the grounds that Whitechapel "is a Muslim area" she was calm and professional and gave them short shrift. Let's see more of this from the police. Has a video of a woman police officer talking to a group of Muslim men

This clip is all over the other place and has made its way onto GB News and Talk TV so I’ll do a bit of an explainer here too!

The clip doing the rounds is of a fantastic police officer telling a group of Muslim men that a Christian preacher nearby is entitled to freedom of expression.

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1/19

I haven't said so often enough recently, but I'm sure that future historians, poring over why Britain imploded in 2016 will seize on CG's chronicling of the whole sorry story, and all its ramifications as the most thorough and clear sighted analysis in the period itself. Invaluable. A must read.

And phone boxes were only for short people

In case you missed it:

Starmer 2.0: could a more authentic PM revive Labour’s appeal? After surviving a coup, and with his critics chastened, No 10 insiders say a more combative PM is up for taking the fight to Reform UK

Condemning Reform, Ratcliffe and Lam's racist rhetoric is an important and very welcome shift.

But it means little unless accompanied by changes to the government's own *policies* -especially the vindictive and counterproductive earned settlement proposals.

www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

David Starkey just can’t help himself: now he’s talking about black people ‘dipped in chocolate’

The once-respected historian has descended into public racism again on his podcast. The even bigger problem is, he’s now an adviser to the hard right

@sangitamyska.bsky.social 's Nerve debut 🔗⏬

Reform UK’s Matt Goodwin faced GB News complaint over colleague’s claim of ‘inappropriate comments’ Exclusive: Nigel Farage understood to have known of grievance against byelection candidate, whose lawyer described it as resolved ‘minor workplace matter’ of miscommunication

"A source at GB News told the Guardian that Farage had characterised the complaint as 'that is just Matt being Matt'."
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

The random capitalization tells you all you need to know

Starmer’s real leadership crisis. New post on my Brexit & Brexitism Blog. Fatuous media coverage aside, Starmer’s challenge is to make good on his claim that Britain isn’t the country of the Brexit years in the face of rising ethno-nationalism: chrisgreybrexitblog.blogspot.com/2026/02/star...

Supreme Court strikes down Trump’s tariffs It’s a rare loss for the president from a conservative-led court and a major rebuke of his economic program.

The Supreme Court on Friday struck down President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs — a major repudiation of a core piece of Trump’s economic program.

www.politico.com/news/2026/02...

The central premise of @chrisgrey.bsky.social's blog - that current British politics can only be understood through the lens not just of Brexit but 'Brexitism' - makes him one of our best analysts of what's going on. A continued must-read.

Starmer’s real leadership crisis. New post on my Brexit & Brexitism Blog. Fatuous media coverage aside, Starmer’s challenge is to make good on his claim that Britain isn’t the country of the Brexit years in the face of rising ethno-nationalism: chrisgreybrexitblog.blogspot.com/2026/02/star...

Greater Lincolnshire to cut ESOL from 2027, mayor confirms Greater Lincolnshire’s mayor will press ahead with plans to scrap publicly funded ESOL courses, despite consultation responses opposing the move.

Reform: How dare people call us racist, we just want people to integrate.

Also Reform: Let's actively cut the mechanisms which make it easier for people to integrate.

Cutting ESOL courses is a bloody stupid, and racist, idea when we should be increasing them.

feweek.co.uk/greater-linc...

Victoria Derbyshire allowing Zia Yusuf to tie himself in absolute knots by asking him simple questions about Reform policy.

A masterclass in quality journalism.

For those who may have forgotten, this was the project touted in 2020 as a great Brexit opportunity to seize the opportunities of our regained 'sovereignty', as per quotes from Gove and Patel below (taken from: www.gov.uk/government/n...)

It has come to something where a "TV presenter" has to try to insist that the people who just got vox-popped are Wrong...

Nigel Farage lashes out at a FT journalist and refuses to answer the question.

Is this how Reform UK would ignore media questions if they got into government?

It's becoming clearer. The plan is to create a veritable government of all the talentless.

Commission adopts proposals for the signing, provisional application and conclusion of EU-UK Agreement in respect of Gibraltar \nThe European Commission has adopted its proposals for the signature and provisional application, as well as for the conclusion of an agreement in respect of Gibraltar between the European Union and ...

EU Commission formally proposes signature and conclusion of EU/UK treaty regarding Gibraltar - ec.europa.eu/commission/p...
although the text is still not public yet...

Good thread

Ah, that well-known methodology "common-sense analysis". So much better than expert analysis and, miraculously, it always proves that 'I am right'.

Perhaps, but I think the deeper sub-text is, as with all those video clips of Britain in the 1950s etc., a racial one about getting back to a supposed mono-culture.

Passport to Pimlico, perhaps?

It's just so strange - like the fixation on 'imperial units'. I actually remember, just about, getting my pocket money in pre-decimal currency & can even still remember the advertising jingle of the decimalization public information films. But so what? Why would anyone *care* about this?

Predictably, the Reform exiles are fighting over who should join/merge with whose party

There's a piquancy in the row between Lowe and Goodwin, the latter affecting horror that Restore’s “ecosystem is riddled with white supremacists, antisemites, racists and conspiracy theorists” & Lowe responding that Goodwin is “full of turquoise s***” and Reform’s “deportation policy is p***-weak”.

This is very good, both as an analysis and a stylish piece of writing

As defence chiefs, we warn you today about Russia, and say this rearmament is not warmongering | Richard Knighton and Carsten Breuer Our security is more uncertain than in decades. But by working together, and by showing strength, Britain, Germany and the rest of Europe can preserve peace, say defence chiefs Richard Knighton and Ca...

Joint article from the British and German Chiefs of Defence

"As military leaders, we see every day how Russia’s military posture has shifted decisively westward. In ways that could heighten the risk of conflict with Nato countries. This is a reality we must prepare for; we cannot be complacent."

The Guardian leader brings this out very well. Letting the World Service die would be a form of unilateral disarmament in the info war between truth and lies.

Senior Reform UK figures attend launch of How to Launder Money book Co-author George Cottrell is close aide to party leader Nigel Farage and served several months in US prison

I can remember a time when a political party celebrating the launch of a book on how to launder money, written by a convicted fraudster who is also a long-term aide to the party leader, would have been seen as a rather large (& bizarre) red flag.
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...